But perhaps signing a 24-month deal on a 6-month old device isn't the smartest of moves

A "special offer from AT&T" has just showed up on the Play Store listing for the HSPA+ Nexus 7 that shows a $100 credit offer for signing a service contract with your new tablet purchase. Similarly to the deal offered by T-Mobile on the Nexus 4 early-on, Google seems to be making small carrier partner deals to try and get some people locked into contracts with their devices even from the Play Store.

This may seem like a great deal up-front -- as is the case in most contract situations -- but when you think about it this really isn't. You're signing up for 2 years of service to save $100 on a device that's already 6 months old, which in the long run means very little considering the cost of data for these plans. Most users will likely want at least 3GB of data, which will run you $30 a month (before taxes/fees.) Taking the true cost of ownership into mind, getting basically 3 months of free service in return for being forced to pay for another 21 months seems a bit less of a great deal -- especially when considering you're still having to pay the full $299 for the tablet.

Edited and updated (Jan. 15): To clarify things a little bit, the $100 credit works with any AT&T data plan. There's no minimum requirement, other than you have to sign up for two years' worth, and you can use it with AT&T's MobileShare shared data as well.

Reader comments

I mean i dont have plans of not using my Nexus 7 without Data... But maybe better packages will come out? even when i get a newer version still is going to get the one data... Kinda debating cause T-mobile is not an option for me right now, but that can change... For only $100 bucks i will keep my freedom.

It's actually a $100 bill credit, and it is offered for ANY data capable tablet you are willing to sign a two year contract for. The minimum is also $10/mo on a mobile share plan, and $14.99/mo as a stand alone plan. Of course there is also a $36 activation fee too.

I first tried the AT&T $15 250 mb montly at first. I then got a T-Mobile SIM to use their $30 unlimited (5mb) data + text + 100min. NO GO as T-Mob wouldn't allow for tablets. Their best offer was $30 for 1.5 gb which was twice as expensive as AT&T. I was shocked at T-Mob's treatment of tablet only users. Furthermore they would not return my $30 when they AND Google could not figure out why their SIM didn't work.
Now I am back on AT&T and their $30 / 3 gb montly. At least it is reasonable. And I'll stay contract free, thank you very much.

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